The immediate pretext for their dismissal was the destruction of the Chinese fleet of junks by the French in the Min River, but Her Majesty’s real reason was that she believed that the Prince was intriguing against her with the young Emperor, and that he was to some extent responsible for a recent Memorial, in which several Censors had roundly denounced her for depraved morals and boundless extravagance.
The Decree in which she dismissed this able adviser of the Throne is in her best manner, displaying many of the qualities which explain this remarkable woman’s long and successful rule. The facts to which she refers have a direct and interesting connection with much subsequent history:—
“Our country has not yet returned to its wonted stability, and its affairs are still in a critical state. There is chaos in the Government and a feeling of insecurity amongst the people. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that there should be competent statesmen at the head of affairs, and that our Grand Council should be an efficient pivot and centre of administration.
“Prince Kung, at the outset of his career, was wont to render us most zealous assistance; but this attitude became modified, as time went by, to one of self-confident and callous contentment with the sweets of office, and of late he has become unduly inflated with his pride of place, displaying nepotism and slothful inefficiency. On occasions when we have urged the Grand Council to display zeal and single-hearted devotion to the State, he and his colleagues have ruthlessly stuck to their preconceived ideas, and have failed to carry out our orders, for which reason they have more than once been impeached, either on grounds of obstructiveness or general uselessness. It has even been said of them that their private lives are disreputable, and that they have dared to recommend persons for high office from improper and corrupt motives.
“The House-laws of our Dynasty are most severe, and if there were any truth in the accusations of treason that have been made against Prince Kung, we should not hesitate for a single moment to inflict upon him the extreme penalty of the law. We do not believe, however, that he can have dared to act in the manner suggested. We set these aside, therefore, and will deal only with the other charges to which we have referred, and for which there would appear to be good foundation. They are in themselves more than sufficient to cause the gravest injury to the State, and if we continue to treat the Prince with leniency, how shall we justify ourselves hereafter in the eyes of our glorious ancestors? We shall incur no small blame in the eyes of posterity, and when the day comes for the Emperor to take over charge of the Government there can be no doubt that he would be likely to fail, under such conditions, to shed lustre, by his reign, on the Dynasty.
“If we were to make public even one or two of the accusing Memorials that have reached us, it would be impossible for us, on grounds of privilege, to extenuate the Prince’s faults, and we should be forced to cashier several of our senior advisers. In the magnanimity of our heart we shrink, however, from any such drastic steps, being moved to deep compassion at the thought that Prince Kung and his colleague, the Grand Secretary, Pao Yün, should have served us so long and now have come to deserve our stern censure and severe punishment. We are prompted to leniency by remembrance of the fact that Prince Kung suffers from a complication of diseases, while Pao Yün has reached an advanced old age. In recognition of their past merits we have, therefore, decided that their good fame may be left to them, and remain unsullied for the rest of their days. As a mark of our Imperial clemency we have decided to permit Prince Kung to retain his hereditary Princedom, together with all the emoluments thereof, but he is hereby deprived of all his offices, and the double salary which he has hitherto enjoyed is withdrawn. He is permitted to retire into private life and attend to the care of his health.
“As regards the Grand Secretary, Pao Yün, he also is allowed to retire from public life, retaining his present rank and titles. As for Li Hung-tsao,[42] who has been a member of the Council for many years, his narrow views and lack of practical experience have caused him to fail completely in his duties. Finally, Ching Lien, the President of the Board of War, seems to think that his duties are satisfactorily performed by adherence to a routine of procrastination, the man being devoid of the first elements of knowledge. Both these officials are hereby relieved of their posts, to be employed in lower positions hereafter. Weng T’ung-ho, the President of the Board of Works, has only recently been appointed a member of the Council, at a time of serious complications, and has, so far, taken no active part in its proceedings. He therefore escapes censure or penalty. As a mark of our consideration we hereby remove him from his post on the Grand Council, but permit him to retain his position on the Board of Works, and he will continue his services as Tutor to the Emperor.”
“For a long time past we have been quietly observing the behaviour and general tendencies of Prince Kung and his colleagues, and we are quite convinced in our mind that it is useless to look to them for any activity or awakening of their petrified energies. If they were retained in office, we firmly believe that they would end by incurring severe punishment by causing some really serious disaster to the State. For this reason we now content ourselves with mild censure from a sense of pity, as a measure of precaution. It is not because of any trivial misdemeanour, or because of the impeachment by Censors that we thus dismiss from office a Prince of the Blood and these high Ministers of our Government, nor is our action taken on any sudden impulse and without full consideration.”
As the result of this Decree, Prince Kung retired from the scene, to remain in unemployed obscurity until 1894, when, after the first disasters of the war with Japan, Tzŭ Hsi, older and wiser, turned to him once more for assistance. He never completely regained the influence with the Empress which he had enjoyed in the earlier days of the first Regency, but after his return to office until his death in 1898, his prestige, especially among foreigners, was great. Tzŭ Hsi, though she loved him not, was forced to admit that he had accepted and borne his degradation with dignity.